Despite what the Royal Gun Co. catalogs recommended 100 years ago, I would be very reluctant to feed one of these guns such a stout diet no matter what condition it was in. A lot of manufacturers claimed that their guns could digest the heaviest loads and kill ducks and geese at exaggerated and extreme ranges. And a lot of those guns were shot loose and beat to death and are no longer functional. There is advertising hype, and there is the test of time. The test of time never lies when it comes to durability of vintage guns. Marks_21 is one of the guys here who has a good deal of actual experience with these, and if he says standard .30-30 loads may be too hot for this design, I'd be inclined to follow his advice. I'd also stay with reduced shotgun loads to protect the stock wood from recoil damage. Recoil is a function of shot weight and velocity. Heavy loads at higher velocities produce more recoil. As for the stock design and the soundness of 100 year old wood, here's what gunsmith Brian Dudley had to say in another thread about these Hollenbeck designed drillings:
Usually the grade 2 guns had a good amount of engraving with a bear on one side and a deer on the other. Grade 1 guns did not typically have any animals on them. Just line engraving and light scroll.
12 over 30-30 is a great combo. Does it have round breech balls or sculpted ones?
Stock damage on these guns is not uncommon. Many of them are found with blown out sections on the bottoms or split heads. It was surely a product of either wood quality it or the quality of the inletting and action design.
Brian Dudley has enough practical experience as a gun stocker to know which guns are vulnerable to stock damage.
